Car wash?

[Ehiggins]

So I'm new to detailing and might be asking a sac-religious question but here goes.

 

I recently hand washed, clayed, sealed and waxed my new truck with all Adam's stuff. I don't have time to hand wash a full size truck weekly. Is an auto wash touch or touchless horrible for my paint? What other options do I have?

 

 

Thanks,

 

-Eric

[LT1xL82]

  

[mc2hill]

You are correct to be concerned that a trip to the local car wash will undo your work!  A touchless wash is your safest bet, but the cleaning power in a touchless wash is the strong chemicals they use for the cleaning.  It will quickly degrade your wax.  

You may want to consider trying a Rinseless wash.  You can easily wash and dry your truck in under an hour using a Rinseless wash.  

[LT1xL82]

The brushes can be abrasive. The chemicals can be harsh. And the rinse water can be nothing more than filtered runoff from previous cars. That said, the corrosive ice melt on the roads in the snow belt is likely worse!

[Ricky Bobby]

It's horrible. Don't do it.

 

You're better off washing less often than subjecting to the chemicals of a touch less or the marring in a swirl o matic wash.

[Jayco76]

depends on how dirty your truck gets using the following method I can do my brother in laws full Mega-cab Dodge Ram in 40 to 50 min

 

Get a gallon of rinseless wash ,Mix up a gallon of pre pre soak ( 18 oz of rinseless wash to one gallon of water ) in a 1.5 gallon sprayer (you can get one at homedepot for less than $15)

 

Go to your local pay and spray . Lay down a mist of pre-soak on each panel . Let it work for 5 to 10 min . Then high pressure wash the truck. Then preform a complete rinseless wash ( I prefer to use the one wipe them fold method ... Aka the Gary dean method ) I also prefer to use the plush waffle weave towels for drying.

 

It's not prefect but it will get you by till you have time for a complete 2 bucket wash

[pirahnah3]

I do my QC F250 weekly during the warmer months and all I do is either rinseless washes or rinseless made down to waterless to maintain my paint. I have a good set of protection on it and during the summer I have paint sealant and do buttery applications usually every other week. (I love the time with the truck) 

[Mazzdog]

Did my first Rinseless yesterday. should you use detail spray before drying the car after you "washed"? I did, seemed to help with letting the MF dry a little easier and not stick/catch to the paint.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Mazzdog

[mc2hill]

Did my first Rinseless yesterday. should you use detail spray before drying the car after you "washed"? I did, seemed to help with letting the MF dry a little easier and not stick/catch to the paint.

 

Certainly TJ!  This is the method I have been using for about 7 years.  

[chops1sc]

[Ricky Bobby]

depends on how dirty your truck gets using the following method I can do my brother in laws full Mega-cab Dodge Ram in 40 to 50 min

 

Get a gallon of rinseless wash ,Mix up a gallon of pre pre soak ( 18 oz of rinseless wash to one gallon of water ) in a 1.5 gallon sprayer (you can get one at homedepot for less than $15)

 

Go to your local pay and spray . Lay down a mist of pre-soak on each panel . Let it work for 5 to 10 min . Then high pressure wash the truck. Then preform a complete rinseless wash ( I prefer to use the one wipe them fold method ... Aka the Gary dean method ) I also prefer to use the plush waffle weave towels for drying.

 

It's not prefect but it will get you by till you have time for a complete 2 bucket wash

^^Perfectly said - a correctly done rinseless wash is easy, and most of all SAFE - the pay n spray is not necessary unless heavily soiled - just saturate well with diluted rinseless in the pump garden sprayer like JasonC mentioned.

 

Did my first Rinseless yesterday. should you use detail spray before drying the car after you "washed"? I did, seemed to help with letting the MF dry a little easier and not stick/catch to the paint.

 

^Its not necessary i.e. you dont have to, but more lubrication is always better, and the Detail Spray helps dry to a perfect streak free shine while adding even more gloss.  I do the same, after cleaning and setting aside my cleaning towel, I spray a mist of DS on the wet panel and then dry.

[SJC96GT]

I'd say go with rinseless washing. Prior to doing a rinseless wash, I always rinse the vehicle off, you can do that at a local pay 'n spray or at home. Afterwards I pre-soak the vehicle using diluted rinseless. Once pre-soaked, I got to my bucket full of towels (6-8 towels, number of towels depends on the size of the vehicle. With a truck you could end up using 10 towels or more) and rinseless wash mixed with 1 gallon of water.

 

I use 1 bucket and the multiple towel method seen here in this video -

 

 

If you have a garage you park your vehicle in, you can rinseless wash the entire vehicle first before drying. If you don't have a garage to park the vehicle in, I suggest just doing one panel at a time.

 

Hope that helps!

Edited April 12, 2016 by SJC96GT